And a new attempt at bringing Emily Dickinson to the masses is attempted.
What They Say:
S01 E01 – Pilot – Emily’s attempt to publish a poem sparks backlash.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Growing up in Massachusettes you get a lot out of your history classes if you pay attention. That’s not to say things didn’t happen in other states, but a lot of east coast states simply have longer histories to deal with and a lot of voices that defined various periods came from along here. Emily Dickinson, born in 1830 and passed away in 1886, isn’t covered in a huge way compared to other historical figures in the area but usually got an outsized look in English classes compared to history. Which is unfortunate as her works are quite intriguing considering where poetry was at the time. While only twelve were published during her life, discovering a trunk with some 1,800 more was an incredible array of riches. I’ve forgotten more than I remember, particularly from my brief foray into slam poetry performances, but all of this had me really interested in seeing this series from the first trailer that arrived.
Created by Alena Smith, this series with episodes clocking in around thirty minutes is going to live or die largely by its lead performer. Which, thankfully, comes in the form of one Hailee Steinfeld. She’s impressed the hell out of me and many others since her star turn in True Grit but I also enjoy a lot of her music and her recent turn in the Bumblebee feature film. Placing the character in her teenage years and bringing it to life with a modern sense and tone is a familiar thing but it comes down to whether or not it works as its own thing and then can capture what made Dickinson the voice that she was. That’s more for the historians and those that follow her closely to decide. For me, I just wanted to see if it would work in bringing a fun, new, and creative approach to something like this with a cast I quite like.
Taking place in 1844, much of what Emily experiences here could easily be part of any modern dramedy. Her mother is trying to marry her off, the latest being a friend of hers named George, but Emily has no interest in marriage. She’s the apple of her father’s eye but her love of writing and desire to be published tarnishes that heavily when she reveals that George is publishing one of her poems. The shame that it would bring on the family is profound in his eyes since the family, here since the early 1600s, is well-known and it comes just as he’s preparing a run for Congress after serving at the state level. There’s a lightness to how Emily tries to live at times but this moment with her father, a rare time for him to have as strong an outburst as he does have, is a powerful moment.
The lead-up to all of this brings in more complex parts of her young life as well. Her fascination with death is understandable, what with her friend Sophia’s family having just died of typhoid leaving only Susan to survive. And Susan, her best friend in the world, has now become betrothed to Emily’s brother Austin. That destroys their plan to grow old together as writers and live their lives. While the usual portrayal for many years of Emily as the quiet spinster throughout her life, the reality is that she and Susan were madly in love for decades and carried on quietly for the most part – though I imagine the series will gives some moments of tension in addition to the passion. Combine all of this with the way her sister needles her and her mother pushes her hard, the loss of her father as an ally against being a conventional woman doing chores and being married off is at risk.
Which is why Death is such a draw to her and a feature in her poetry. We get a visual interpretation of that with Wiz Khalifa playing the role where the two talk as she sees him at varying times, or just the carriage and wispy horses. It’s a great sequence that we get out of the two as it shows the comfort she finds in this darkness in contrast to the life that she lives. And that’s a timeless tale with teenagers of all stripes in dealing with families, expectations, one’s own desires in life, and the little choice that we have at times regardless of the century. And it all just keeps going on and on and on…
In Summary:
With the opener directed by David Gordon Green, there’s a top-level competence to it combined with some solid style. The visual flourishes give it what it needs to stand out compared to past adaptations and looks at her life as well as the music. The cast is strong across the board as they play to the past but you see get a very Jane Krakowski performance, for example. With its shorter time and somewhat blunt approach to things, it works as a great way to show the way things were, touch upon the way writing like other things can drive you to such distances, and just how far we still have to go as a society. There’s a lot to like here and I’m excited to see more of what’s going to come of it. This was a great and packed opening installment.
Grade: A
Streamed By: Apple TV+
